Mayor Thomas M. Menino today announced that the City’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD), in collaboration with the Boston Police and Fire departments, has completed a three day code sweep of rental units located at Gardner, Pratt, Linden and Ashford Streets in Allston, an area heavily populated with students. ISD will again be in the area tomorrow at 12 PM to follow up with students, distributing pamphlets with information on rental housing resources and how to protect themselves from potential health and safety hazards.

“Boston is home to thousands of students, and they all deserve a safe place to live,” Mayor Menino said. “We will not allow landlords to take advantage of students by neglecting their properties and putting people at risk. We also want to make sure that renters in Boston, particularly students, are aware of their responsibilities as tenants. We will continue to work with the student community as well as landlords to ensure a safe environment for everyone.”

Where have I heard this before? Oh, that's right we hear the same thing every year or two, usually in the fall when students return to Allston. I wonder if this time there will be more consistent follow through.

As thousands of college students descend on Boston, Mayor Thomas Menino promised to crack down on landlords who take advantage of students.

NewsCenter 5's Pam Cross reported that Menino said routine inspections of apartments usually rented to college students found trash, rats and other unsanitary conditions."It's one of the worst (apartments) I've seen, especially for a neighborhood," said Edward Kennedy, of Boston Inspectional Services. "There is definitely a rat infestation here as well."

"They have debris (blocking windows). Coming out of the window, you would trip over something," Menino said.